Papa Don't Preach
by swimchick101
Summary: Papa don't preach, I'm in trouble deep. Papa don't preach, I've been losing sleep. But I've made up my mind: I'm keeping my baby. Ginny Weasley's trip through pregnancy. All chapters edited and beta'd as of 11.20.2007
1. Part 1: I'm Late

Papa Don't Preach

Part 1: I'm Late

"I'm late."

Ginny Weasley sat at the kitchen table across from her mother; her eyes were glazed with unshed tears, her hands intertwined at the fingers in front of her.

Molly Weasley looked towards her daughter from the sink where she'd just charmed a knife to cut a bundle of carrots. She thought of only one thing that statement could mean, but immediately put that in the back of her mind. This was her Ginny they were talking about. Perfect, prefect, Head Girl Ginny who had just finished Hogwarts at the top of her class. She was leaving at the end of the summer for further schooling. She wanted to become a healer. There was no way…

"Late for what, dear?" Molly smiled at her only daughter as if those thoughts had not entered her mind. Her smile faltered when Ginny's eyes rolled.

"My period. I'm late."

Molly looked at Ginny; Ginny was staring intently at her own entwined fingers. When she finally did look up at her mother, she wasn't surprised in the least. Both pairs of brown eyes were filled with tears. Ginny's were the first to spill over, however, and as soon as the salty liquid ran down her cheek, it was like waterworks in the kitchen. The two women were crying together.

Molly tried to stay strong for her daughter, but this was not something she wanted to hear the day after her youngest child finished school. She moved to sit next to the young girl and pulled her against her chest, wiping at her daughter's face, pushing the tears away and not worrying nor caring about her own.

"I'm sorry," Ginny whispered against her mum's chest. She tried wiping at her tears herself, but they just kept coming.

"How long have you suspected?" Molly asked, moving her daughter away from her and looking into her brown eyes, still holding onto her arms.

"A few weeks. I'd been throwing up a lot and Luna finally got me to go see Madam Pomfrey." Ginny's tears had stopped, but unshed ones still filled her eyes threatening to spill over at any moment. She looked into her mother's eyes and sighed at the disappointment that filled them.

"I'm so sorry, honey." And then Ginny was pressed firmly against her mother again. Molly's tears ran down her face and buried themselves in her daughter's hair as she placed her chin on top of Ginny's head.

There were so many things she wanted to know; her head was swimming. There was one particular thing in mind. But she didn't want to upset Ginny. It had been a big step for her to even come to Molly and say something; she didn't want her to feel smothered.

But after a while of them sitting there, crying together, Molly's curiosity finally got the best of her and she pulled away from her daughter, taking a deep breath.

"Ginny, who's the father?"

Ginny's breath caught in her throat and she stood up, backing away from her mother. She couldn't tell her. She couldn't even tell him. He'd be too disappointed. She'd be too disappointed.

"Are you still seeing him?" Her mother pleaded, pressing her hands together.

Ginny figured she'd find out soon enough. Plenty of people knew about their relationship, and once word got out of her pregnancy, everyone will know.

But she couldn't tell. She couldn't do that to him.

So, instead of answering her mother's question, she fled the kitchen and out the back door, only slowing to a walk when she reached the lake a good distance away from the burrow. She sat against an old tree, staring at the lake.

They'd kissed here for the first time. He'd come for the past Christmas and the lake was frozen over, but not enough to go ice-skating like Hermione had suggested. She, Ginny, had a quite a row with Ron and ran out here, staring at the snow and ice covered lake.

He'd come after her and sat next to her, telling her what a prat he was. Then, he wrapped his arm around her and kissed her cheek. She turned her head, then, and kissed him square on the mouth. He looked at her like he wasn't expecting that. Then he kissed her again.

They'd been together ever since.

Ginny looked out at the lake and saw things had changed. Their relationship was stronger, more adult. He was 19, she 18. They'd made love for the first time shortly after Christmas; Ginny remembered it was Valentine's Day and he surprised her at school. But he only stayed for that night.

That's all she needed to realize that she was in love with him.

He'd visit her at school a couple of times a month. He'd go to Hogsmede whenever there was a trip. They'd hold hands and visit all of the shops, picking things out for each other and giving the other little kisses every now and then.

They'd been so public with their relationship she had been surprised her mother didn't know right away who the father was.

But suddenly he stopped coming. They'd see each other during the Hogsmede visits, but he was very distant during those times. Before she'd get an owl from him at least once a day, sometimes more. But after, she hardly ever heard from him.

During one of the trips she asked him about this; he told her he wanted her to concentrate on her NEWTS coming up. He didn't want to be the reason she didn't get into a good school after Hogwarts.

She'd been forced to accept that.

He got a room at the Leaky Cauldron, and they'd made love the last time there. That's when this all happened.

She hasn't heard from him since. He didn't even send her an owl congratulating her on being top of her class. He didn't even meet her at the train station like her brother and Hermione had.

She didn't ask any questions, but she knew something was wrong. That's when she knew she had to tell somebody.

Telling her mother that she was pregnant was the hardest thing Ginny had ever done. Seeing the pain and anguish in her mother's eyes cut through Ginny like a knife. She could barely tolerate it.

Suddenly, Ginny stood from where she was sitting against the trunk of the tree staring across the lake to the mass fields of yellow flowers, and headed towards the house, her decision made.

She was going to tell him. Soon.

((00))((00))

Ron Weasley sat in the living room of his large flat, staring blankly at the open book on his lap. He shared the flat with Hermione Granger, his girlfriend, and Harry Potter, their best friend, both of which were out at the moment. He hadn't been able to concentrate since he'd gotten an owl from his mum not two minutes before inviting the three of them for dinner. She said one of the members of their family had some big news.

He had some strange inkling that it was Ginny with the news.

And that thought disturbed him. He loved his little sister dearly, and the thought of some drastic change in their lives because of her was driving him mad. He had to know.

Of course, it was only one o'clock in the afternoon. They had five hours before they were scheduled to be at the burrow. He'd tried to get his mind off of things by reading up on hexes so as to keep his memory fresh in case he had to use any anytime soon, but it was no use. He couldn't concentrate.

There's something about the tone of her letter that was eating away at his insides. He didn't like it.

He was distracted, however, when a red headed girl popped out of the fireplace and landed with an 'oof' on the floor in front of it.

Ginny stood up straight, brushing the soot off of her muggle jeans and tight blue tank top, gazing at her brother with an amused expression. "Useful Hexes and Their Counterparts," she read the title of the book that had fallen to the floor when he jumped up in shock, giggling. "Going to hex someone big brother?"

Ron simply glared at the younger, girl version of himself, picking up the book and putting it on one of the many bookshelves in the room.

"Not if I don't have a reason to," he muttered, turning back towards his sister, who had made herself comfortable in the chair he'd been in a minute before. "How nice of you to visit, would you like a cup of tea?" he asked sarcastically, glaring at the girl sitting cross legged in the most comfortable chair in the whole house.

"I'd adore one, actually." Ginny smiled at the angered look on her brother's face, but remembered she'd come there for a reason.

"So," Ron started, heading towards the kitchen to make the tea. Ginny followed and plopped into a chair at the table, watching her brother move about the room with an amused look on her face. "Do you know what mum wants to talk to us about?" He gauged her reaction carefully, noticing her face fall.

"What do you mean 'what mum wants to talk to us about?'" Ginny's voice faltered a bit with nervousness that she quickly tried to cover with a smile. But Ron saw right through it.

"What's wrong Ginny? Mum sent an owl for the three of us to come for dinner, that there was something someone wanted to tell us." He placed the tea in front of her and sat down next to her, gazing at her in concern.

"What makes you think it has something to do with me?" Ginny asked, her voice wavering slightly. She sipped her tea and turned towards her brother.

"Does it have something to do with–"

"It has nothing to do with me, Ron." Ginny cut him off and turned towards the door. "I need to leave. I've got to visit Fred and George today, I promised."

"They'll probably be at dinner!" Ron called after her, smiling when she stopped quickly for the words to sink in before heading towards the fire.

With a green flame, his sister was gone.

((00))

Apparating was never really an option for Ginny, now especially because it might hurt the baby. Ginny barely passed her apparation test. She'd gotten the lowest mark you could get without failing, and always opted for a more safe method of travel like floo powder or portkeys.

So when she all but fell out of the fireplace in Weasley's Wizarding Weezes at number 93 Diagon Alley, she decided to swear off of traveling for at least an hour. She glanced around where she'd come out. It was the storage room of the store. She saw red hair peaking over the top of a stack of boxes labeled Ton Tongue Taffy across the side.

She moved towards the hair, knocking over a box and making her presence known. The boy attached to the hair jumped, the clipboard in his hand falling to the floor, as he whipped around to see the intruder. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Ginny.

"Jesus, Gin, you scared the shit out of me." George told her, bending over to get his clipboard and resumed counting stock.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to…I – I just needed to ask you a question."

"Couldn't you have waited until dinner? I mean, is it really that important?"

"Dinner? So you got an owl from mum too?" Ginny's eyes widened as she realized the reality of the situation.

"I got an owl from mum saying we'd better show – you know how sometimes we're there and sometimes not – because someone had some important information for us." George didn't look up from where he was counting boxes of something with 'Purple' in the title and marking his clipboard.

"So you'll be there?" Ginny asked, trying not to let the nervousness show through in her voice. It did, however, and George turned towards her.

"Everything all right?" He asked, looking his sister up and down. Her red hair hit between her shoulder blades and half of it was up in a ponytail. Her tank top was covered in soot, as well as her jeans, face, and arms. He had a sneaking suspicion that this wasn't the first place she'd traveled to by floo.

"I hate my life," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

"Come on," George held out his hand to her. "Let's go get a butterbeer."

"No!" She insisted, resisting him pulling her out of the small room. But he was stronger and faster than her and she was sitting on a stool behind the register of the shop before she knew what was happening.

George placed a bottle of the liquid in front of her as Fred came over; ready to ring up a customer he'd been helping. Once the little boy was gone, Fred looked towards his soot-covered sister.

"All right there, Ginny?" Fred asked, wiping the counter off with a rag before tossing it aside and leaning over to look his sister in the eyes.

She was about to answer when the bell above the door dinged, signaling another customer had come in. The three of them looked over to see their eldest brother, Bill, walk through the door.

The tall man looked left and right before his eyes settled on the three of them. "Bill!" Fred yelled, walking quickly to his brother. "How are you, old chap?"

Bill laughed at his brother's antics and moved towards the counter, giving Ginny a quick kiss on the cheek and patting George's back.

"Not that it's not great to see you, Bill, but what are you doing here?" George asked, taking the untouched bottle from in front of Ginny and taking a swig.

"Mum owled me and told me I had to come stay for a while. Naturally I was curious and took off from work. I was scheduled a vacation any way."

Ginny's eyes widened. So their mother had gotten to Bill and probably Charlie, too? This wasn't going to be a fun night.

"Any idea why she wanted me to come?" Bill asked his siblings, looking to each one.

"Ginny was just about to tell me." Fred said. The three of them looked at their sister. She took a deep breath and decided just to tell them. None of them knew whom she'd been seeing; at least she didn't think they did.

"I…err…I'm…I'm pregnant."

But before they could say anything – before any of them could get one word out – she conquered her fear and disapparated.

((00))


	2. Part 2: Family Dinner

Papa Don't Preach

Part 2: Family Dinner

"Bloody hell," George said after watching his only sister, his baby sister, disappear from sight.

The shock of the situation was slowly settling in. The three redheads were staring at each other, mouths open, in total shock.

"Ginny's pregnant?" Bill asked his twin brothers as if to clarify that he'd heard her right. When all he got were nods from the pair, he let out a long breath and leaned on the counter, his head in his hands. "This is so not what I came to hear." He rubbed his hands over his eyes and looked towards Fred.

"I wonder who the father is," George muttered, looking towards Fred as well. Fred's face was frozen. His eyes were in blank and his mouth formed a line. It was quite obvious… "You know, don't you? You know who it is!"

Fred shook his head, and then went to rub his forehead. "I need a drink." He muttered, walking away from his brothers and into the back into the office.

"We always keep a bottle of firewhiskey in there in case…well…something like this happens."

"In case your little sister gets pregnant?"

The bell above the door dinged again and George turned towards it, about to say they've closed early for the day, when he saw his little brother and his girlfriend walk in, holding hands. He saw Harry behind them and smiled.

"Oi!" Ron said, swinging his arm that was attached to Hermione's. She smiled at him before turning to the two men at the counter.

"Bill?" Hermione screeched, running over to give him a hug. She hadn't seen him in a while, since Christmas. Bill had always been her second favorite Weasley child; second only to Ron, of course.

"Hey Hermione," he said into the hug, shaking Ron's hand when she finally let go of him. He nodded at Harry, who returned the nod.

"So, mum's expecting us for dinner in an hour. Any idea what this is about?" Ron asked, trying to find some inkling of what was going on. At the looks on his brother's faces, however, he knew immediately that they knew.

"Uh…"

"Err…"

"You won't tell us then?" Hermione batted her eyelashes at George, who looked at his hands on the counter.

Sounds of kids laughing outside quite near the front of the shop were heard and George made a beeline for the door, locking it and switching the sign to 'closed' before anyone could come in.

"We think they should tell you," Bill offered, shooting a pleading glance at George, but his back was turned.

"Well, no reason we can't show up a little early, is there?" Harry asked, quite anxious himself to hear what whoever had the thing to say would say.

"Let's go then." Bill said, turning to George.

"I'll go get Fred. We'll meet you there." Bill nodded and quickly apparated out. There were three more 'pop' noises signalling the others had gone as well.

George walked hesitantly towards the back room, switching off the light to the main part of the shop. He'd worry about inventory and income tomorrow morning. Right now he had family business.

He found Fred under the desk in the office. He walked in and saw file folders floating about, sorting themselves into the correct filing cabinet, before the cabinet would snap shut and another would open, sending it's contents out to update themselves.

George crouched down to Fred's level and found him scrunched in to a ball – the only way he'd fit under the desk – a bottle of firewhiskey in his hand. It was already half gone. George took the liberty of grabbing an arm and a leg and pulling his brother out from under the desk.

Fred, however, just sprawled out onto the floor and put the bottle up to his lips, taking another long gulp, wincing at the burn as it went down his throat. Some of the amber liquid slosh over his face and ran down his cheeks, but he didn't move to wipe it away.

"You know what the funny thing is?"

"What's that?" George asked, taking the bottle from Fred – who swiped for it back – and taking a long sip himself, wiping the excess from his mouth on to his shirtsleeve.

"I never expected this from Ginny. You or me…maybe Ron, definitely Bill or Charlie…but Ginny and Percy were always the good ones…always the ones that followed the rules…"

"I never expected it from any of us. I always imagined us – all of us – married before starting a family. I don't see what the big deal is, though. So Ginny's starting a little early, a little out of order. So what?"

"You don't know what I know! You don't know what I saw! I saw them…together!" Fred covered his face in shame, hoping the get the image out of his head.

"Wait! So you saw them…doing it…" George jumped when Fred let out a loud laugh and tried to get up. He helped him up and looked at his twin, who was now leaning on the desk he had been under a moment ago, expectantly.

"No!" Fred was giggling like mad. "I saw them here, in Hogsmeade. You were counting inventory. I told you we'd be busy because the kids from Hogwarts were coming today. But you insisted on taking inventory. So I was watching the shop, making sure no one tried to shop lift even though we've got them cursers that curse you whenever something leaves the shop unpaid for. And I saw Ginny and him walking around holdin' hands and kissin' and stuff."

"So you'll tell me who it is?" George asked excitedly.

"Go home. Ask Ginny. I'm going upstairs."

The twins lived in a flat above the shop. It was sparsely furnished with two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen that happened to be connected to a living room. They never used the kitchen, opting for going to the burrow for meals.

George watched his brother retreat up the stairs before turning off all of the lights in the downstairs part and disapparating to the burrow.

((00))((00))

Ginny had appeared in her room in the house and immediately turned to the door and put a silencing, locking, and imperturbable charm on it.

Her twin brothers had the biggest mouths. There was no doubt in her mind that they wouldn't spill the beans to the rest of the lot. And that was mighty fine by her. She didn't want to be there anyway.

The girl flung herself on to her bed and buried her head in the pillow. She'd been thinking about him for a while, wondering when he'd show his face now that she was home from school. She's almost been back a whole 24 hours and he still hadn't come by.

Tears welled up in her eyes thinking about the last time they were together. She turned over onto her back and put one hand behind her head, gazing at the plain white ceiling. Her other hand rested on her lower abdomen. She thought about the little baby growing inside her.

Her smile turned to a frown when she realized that its father might not be there for it. "I can't raise a baby on my own," she muttered to herself, pressing her hand softly into her still flat belly.

"Mum and dad will help you," she reassured herself, standing up and going over to the mirror. She stood sideways, trying to imagine what she'd look like pregnant. She puffed her stomach out as far as it would go.

She looked ridiculous.

"This is pathetic." She told herself, watching her reaction in the mirror. She changed her pair of jeans for a pair of gym shorts and kept her tank top.

She stood up from taking off her socks and stumbled a little, a wave of dizziness suddenly hitting her. She became scared. What if she'd hurt the baby?

She did the only thing she could do. She lifted the charms and yelled for her mum.

((00))((00))

"But what if I hurt the baby?" Ginny whispered five minutes later. Molly ushered her to the bed and she fell onto it, suddenly tired.

"You didn't. It's because you apparated. No more while this is happening." The motherly tone coming from Molly caused a smile to form on Ginny's face.

"Great. I finally get the courage to do it and it nearly kills my baby."

"But it didn't. Now get some rest. I'll be up to check on you later."

((00))((00))

"Mum?" Ron said, opening the door to his childhood home, followed in by Hermione and Harry. "Mum, you there?"

Bill appeared behind them a second later and followed the group into the house, shutting the door behind them.

Molly was coming down the stairs just then, and smiled to the lot. "You're early," she commented, making her way to the kitchen.

"We were just excited to hear the news," Hermione said, following her to help.

"Say mum, where's Ginny? I need to talk to her." Bill said, catching Molly's eye. They made eye contact for a moment. In that moment, everything was said that needed be. Molly knew that Bill knew and Bill knew the same for Molly.

"She's asleep," Molly told them. "She's had a long day, and I can only imagine that it's about to get longer."

Bill walked towards the stairs, fully intent on going to talk to Ginny, but a hand on his arm made him stop. He looked up at his mother and sighed. "I just need to ask her something."

Molly looked toward Ron and Harry, who were busy doing something to make Hermione laugh, before turning to Bill. "She's not going to tell you. She won't even tell me. Now leave her alone; you'll see her at dinner." Bill nodded, but didn't drop the subject by choice.

They were interrupted when a 'bang!' erupted from the living room. They all rushed in to find that Percy and Charlie had decided to apparate to exactly the same spot at exactly the same time. Both men were lying on the floor, clutching their heads.

"Charlie, Percy, are you all right?" Molly asked, giving each of her sons a once-over to determine the depth of their injuries.

"I'm fine, Perce?" Charlie got to his feet, rubbing his forehead gently.

"I'm all right." Percy's voice was soft, however, and all eyes turned to him. He was still on the floor, resting back on his hands, his khaki-clad legs stretched out in front of him. His head was back, though, and a small trickle of blood was coming from his nose.

"Oh, Percy! Let me fix that for you!" Molly insisted, pulling her wand out of her dress. She pointed it at his nose and muttered a spell. The blood immediately stopped and his nose cleaned itself of the blood.

"Thanks, mum." He got up and gave her a warm hug, turning to the rest of them. "Hello."

"Not that I'm not thrilled to be invited to dinner, mum, but what's this all about?" Molly was about to open her mouth to scold them about waiting until dinner when Bill walked down the stairs.

When had he gone up stairs?

"Ginny's refusing to come down. I told her Percy and Charlie were here and she flat out said she wasn't coming down until they left. Until everyone was gone, actually." Bill said, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his olive-green trousers.

"So, will you tell us mum? It's obviously about Ginny if she's locked herself in her room."

Molly was hurt that Ginny didn't want to tell the lot herself. She thought Ginny might grow up and take responsibility for her actions; she was wrong. Maybe inviting the whole family for dinner wasn't such a good thing until she was ready.

"I could," Molly said cautiously, looking at the group in front of her, all looking back at her expectantly. "Ginny's – "

"Bloody hell," they heard the familiar voice from the kitchen and soon George joined them in the living room.

"Shhh!" Ron insisted, holding one finger over his lips. "Mum was just about to tell us…"

"Sorry," George whispered, but didn't seem as interested as the rest of the lot. Molly figured he knew as well.

"Where's Fred?" Molly wondered aloud.

"He's not coming."

"Mum!" said Ron loudly. "Tell us already!"

"Well…Ginny's…" She took a deep breath, closing her eyes briefly before looking at the lot. "Ginny's pregnant."

She was met with five shocked faces.

"What?" She heard from behind them. She turned to find her husband, arms full of things from the Ministry, staring at them.

She'd really wanted Ginny to tell him.

Angry didn't even touch how Arthur Weasley felt. Questions and wonders zoomed through his head at lightning speed. Then he asked the question everyone was wondering.

"Who's the father?"

((00))((00))

"Who's the father?" Arthur demanded in a stern, fatherly voice, glancing over the group of people in front of him. His face was red with anger, and most shrunk back away from him.

But Harry stepped up.

"I think we'd all like to know that." He muttered, his voice filled with disbelief.

"So no one knows?" Arthur demanded again, not bothering to look at the lot. Instead, he made his way up the crooked staircase to the third floor and walked to the door of his daughter's room.

They could hear him knock from the whole three flights down, praying that he didn't go crazy when he realized she couldn't hear him. Her locking charm that she'd set after Bill left her had doubled as sound proofing her room as well.

"Maybe we should skip dinner." Ron muttered, taking Hermione's hand.

"Got an extra room, brother?" Charlie turned to their youngest brother. No one wanted to be in the same house as a mad Arthur Weasley, and right now, he was pushing crazy.

"One, mate." Ron told him before apparating out with Hermione in tow. Charlie smiled at Bill, who glared at him for getting Ron's spare room, before following his brother's lead and leaving. Harry left a second later, leaving Percy, Bill, George, and Molly standing alone in the kitchen.

"We've got some extra room at the shop," George offered, glancing at Bill and Percy. "We've got a big couch…the floor's probably more comfortable than sleeping here."

Bill shook his head. "I'm not sure I want to be with a drunken Fred," he muttered, turning to Percy. "You want the couch?"

"Well, I for one am not scared of sleeping in the same house as my father."

"You're the only one," George whispered under his breath, but Percy heard and glared at him.

"I'm not scared of him. I just figure that him and mum and Ginny need to talk and would rather not be shunned to my room at seven o'clock, thank you very much," said Bill, turning to George. He opened his mouth to speak, but Molly cut him off.

"Why is Fred drunk?" she asked nervously. Fred had only been drunk once – to her knowledge – and that was when he'd broken up with his one and only girlfriend, Angelina Johnson.

"He knows who the father of Ginny's baby is so he's decided to drink himself in to a stupor." George told her, preparing himself for his departure.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Molly yelled at the two men as if what she was talking about was plain as day.

"I don't follow…" Bill's forehead was knotted in confusion, lines crinkling the tan skin.

"You twit!" Percy bellowed from the doorway where he'd been about to exit to his room. "Fred is pissed off his arse! He's more likely to spill the beans than if he were sober. Go talk to him. We all want to know who knocked up our little sister…"

"By gosh golly gee," George muttered, slapping his forehead. "Percy's right. We should go talk to Fred. But he might not tell…"

"He might be mad for us asking…"

"But he might tell you," the voice was Arthur's. He was standing in the doorway where Percy had been just a minute before. His face was tired; he look incredibly drained of emotion.

"It's worth a shot."

((00))((00))

The second the two popped into the flat above the shop, they began searching for their brother. It didn't take long to find him, however, because he was sitting in the recliner in the living room/kitchen. His legs where resting on the coffee table; one arm was draped over his face, the other arm flung over the side of the chair clutching the bottle of alcohol.

"Fred?" Bill asked, nudging the man's foot with his own foot. He moved only a little, but fell right back into his alcohol-induced sleep.

"Well that idea's shot to shite," George muttered, sitting on the couch across from his brother. Bill sat next to him, taking his trainers off and resting his sock-clad feet on the table.

"I wonder who it could be," George said aloud, mentally kicking himself for insisting he do inventory at that time that day. He should've stayed in the front to help Fred with the school kids.

But from what he could remember of the day, he had been upset with Fred and wanted him to suffer by having to deal with a bunch of third years setting off fireworks in the shop.

He never thought something like this could happen.

"Don't we all, Georgie? Don't we all?"

"All of us except for him," he muttered, watching Fred sleep.

Fred let out a sleepy snort, before rolling his head the other way and smiling in his sleep.

((00))((00))

"_I love you," he told her, reaching behind him and pulling out a dozen roses. She smiled, taking the flowers from him and putting them on the table next to the four-poster bed. _

"_Really? Do you mean it?" her brown eyes pleaded with him. Like he'd ever lie to her. But she had to be sure; make sure this night was actually happening. _

"_Of course, Ginny. Do you think I'd lie to you?" _

_Upon the first two words, she flung herself at the taller boy, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Of course not! I love you, too!" _

_The two kissed like they'd never kissed before. It was slow and passionate and everything Ginny had ever wanted in a kiss. She ran her hands down his back, lifting his shirt slightly and pressing her hands against his warm, bare skin. She needed to feel his skin, make sure he was actually there, saying those words. _

"_Ginny…let me love you." The statement was more of a question that he asked, leaning back to look in her eyes. _

_She looked around the room. She, being Head Girl, got her own room in Gryffindor Tower. There was just the four-poster bed, a dresser, a nightstand, and a full length mirror next to her bed. She did have her own bathroom, however. _

_Ginny hadn't pictured this where she would have her first time. _

_But as long as it was with him, she didn't care. _

_Ginny nodded to him, hearing the animalistic growl as soon as she gave him the okay. It didn't take him any time to rid her of her nightgown. She was naked underneath, and writhed under the scrutiny of his loving gaze. _

"_You're beautiful," he told her, leaning down and capturing her lips in a searing kiss. His hands wrapped around her waist and rested on the small of her back. He moved his kiss from her mouth, trailing down her jaw to her neck, suckling at the sweat, tender flesh where her neck meets her shoulder. _

_She moaned lightly as his fingers moved lower. They'd done this before, but the intense feelings still sent shivers down her back._

_Slowly, he led her backwards until her legs hit the edge of the bed, and suddenly she was lying down, him straddling her thighs and smiling devishly down at her._

_Her hips bucked as his fingers made circles around her belly button. It was then that she realized that he was fully clothed. _

_She reached up to his shirt, pushing him into a sitting position, and began unbuttoning them one by one. As soon as one button popped out of its designated whole, she immediately fumbled for the next until his shirt hung loosely over his shoulder. _

_She pushed it off of him, throwing it on top of her nightdress in the corner, her fingers splaying over the mass that was his chest. _

"_Oh, Ginny," he breathed, pulling her hands away from his chest and kissing her fingertips. She pulled his face down to meet hers in a bruising kiss, their tongues dueling inside each mouth, trying to gain the upper hand of control._

_She turned her head and went for the buckle on his trousers, having some difficulty getting it undone. He finally moved his hands down to help her. He rolled off of her and shimmied out of the cargos and his boxers as well. _

_Ginny rolled onto her side, facing him, taking in all of his beauty in the moonlight coming from the lone window in the room. _

"_I really do love you," Ginny told him, watching him turn over and pull her closer to him. _

"_I know, love," he insisted. Ginny smiled at the name he'd called her and sighed when he climbed above her, spreading her thighs and resting between them. "I love you, too." _

_And he took her. _

Ginny woke up, gasping for air as the memory of the first time came back to her. Her breathing slowed when she realized that it was all just a dream – or rather a memory of her past.

Her stomach growled and she realized she was hungry. By the light outside – or lack there of – she realized it was probably late, maybe ten o'clock. Against her better judgment, she decided to go get something to eat – no use in starving the poor kid.

She decided not to bother with her dressing gown and just walked out of the room in her pajamas – a pair of flannel pants and a blue tank top. She crept past Percy's old room, cursing the creaking floorboards, and went down the stairs and into the kitchen.

She fixed herself a sandwich and sat at the table with that and a glass of pumpkin juice, picking up a copy of 'Witch Weekly.' She smiled when she saw Harry's face staring back at her.

They were still talking up his defeat against Voldemort. He'd killed him at the end of his seventh year, with the help of Hermione and Ron of course. But they were always there, weren't they? They always came to Harry's rescue.

She noticed, however, that the article wasn't about the end of the war. Harry, apparently, was now know as 'Sexiest Rookie Quidditch Player of the Year.'

_Mr. Harry Potter, 19, is the most sought after bachelor in the wizarding world since Gilderoy Lockhart… _

Some more about Harry's good looks…

…_Puddlemere United as reserve Seeker. A formal Press Release is to be issued sometime tomorrow announcing Potter's promotion to first string Seeker, as Barroft is retiring at the end of the week…_

There was more about the team and statistics, along with interviews from players and coaches. There was nothing in the article from Harry. Ginny read the article in it's entirety while eating her sandwich before putting her cup in the sink and heading back to bed.

On her way up the stairs, she met Percy in the hall. He was heading down to the kitchen for a midnight snack. She muttered a 'hello' to him, catching him when he dared to take a glance down at her stomach. She took in a sharp breath, letting him know she'd caught him, before making her way up the rest of the stairs.

((00))((00))

"It just doesn't make sense," Ron muttered to himself, sinking into the bed currently occupied by a reading Hermione. "Why won't she tell us?"

"It's obvious," Hermione told him, putting her book down on the table next to her bed and turning towards him.

"Well what's so obvious, missy?" He smiled at her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "Do YOU know?"

"Of course not, Ron. If I knew you know I would tell you. It just…Ginny has six brothers. SIX. Do you really think she's going to announce to the world who got her pregnant at 18? Do you really think she's going to throw the guy she loves to the wolves – being you and your brothers, not to mention your father!"

"So she loves the guy? Are you sure it wasn't just some random shag?"

"She's not the kind of person to just go sleep with someone – "

"I bet it was that Creevy kid. He's got shifty eyes…"

"Ron, you sound ridiculous!" Hermione muttered, turning towards the wall and crossing her arms over her chest.

"It could be anyone. ANYONE! Anyone who goes to Hogwarts…what if she was raped? Oh god, I'd never live with myself."

"I don't think she was raped. And if she was, it would in no way be your fault." Hermione closed her eyes, preparing to be lifted off to sleep.

"Maybe the reason she won't tell us…do you think even Ginny knows who the father is?"

She didn't have an answer to that.

((00))((00))


	3. Part 3: From Answers to Questions

Papa Don't Preach

Part 3: From Answers to Questions

"Ginny…"

Ginny's eyelids fluttered opened. She vaguely remembered getting a sandwich in the middle of the night and then falling back into her bed. She muttered a spell to see what time it was. Currently, it read 3:24 a.m. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, wondering what woke her up in the first place.

Then she saw it.

It was the outline of a person standing next to her bed. You could tell his hands were stuffed into his pockets and he was waiting for some sort of answer.

"What are you doing here?"

She should've known he'd come. She should've felt it. He'd obviously found out about her condition, or she was certain he wouldn't have come.

"I came to see you," he muttered, sitting down next to her on her bed. She shifted slightly, and allowed him room to lie next to her.

"I really don't have anything to say to you," she told him, turning her head away from his and staring blankly at the wall her bed was pushed against.

"Is it mine?"

Ginny's eyes grew wide at his not-even-trying-to-be-subtle question. Her head snapped around and before she knew it she had scrambled off of the bed. She whipped around and glared at him. Her mouth was open and closing as she chose her words carefully.

"How can you ask that?" she asked after a moment of wrapping her mind around the fact that her boyfriend was sitting on her bed in her childhood home. He stood up and moved toward her, but she backed up until she was flush against the wall. She slid down, her knees resting against her chest, her chin on her knees.

"Ginny – " he said, reaching for her.

"NO!" She said, moving away from his touch. "How can you even ask me that question?"

"I love you, Ginny."

"You obviously don't trust me!" She stood up hastily, walking over to her dresser, stubbing her toe on the bed in the dark. She jumped up and down muttering 'ow' with each jump. He took two quick strides to her and wrapped her in his arms.

"Shh," he told her soothingly, moving her to the bed. He pushed her against the headboard so she was mostly lying back, and then sat down, putting her feet in his lap.

His hands ran over the soles of her feet, pressing gently but firmly. He smiled when she muttered an 'ohh' in pleasure. "I heard pregnant woman like their feet rubbed."

Ginny sat straight up snatching her feet away from the man she loved. "Pregnant women DO like their feet rubbed. When their feet HURT. I am only a few weeks pregnant; therefore my feet are NOT sore. Thank you for ASKING." She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly.

They stayed like that in silence, the man sitting on her bed twiddling with his thumbs nervously. There were so many things they wanted and needed to say to one another. Both were waiting for the other to initiate the conversation.

"I'm sorry." He muttered finally.

"For?" Ginny pressed, cursing under her breath that she'd fallen in love with this oaf of a man.

"For accusing you of cheating on me," he paused for a moment, picking his words to say to her out of the slue of them running through his head. "Did you?"

He immediately realized that was the wrong thing to say when she picked up her pillow and began hitting him with it. He tried desperately to block the blows with his hands, but immediately realized it was a lost cause and sat still, watching her pillow rip open. Goose feathers now littered the floor.

"I can't believe you have the guts to ask that! Again! Are you stupid? You must be!" She threw the cloth that was what had been her pillow onto the floor and retook her stance, arms crossed over her chest, looking at her former lover intently.

"I'm not stupid, Ginny! I hear rumors!"

"You must be that thick to believe silly rumors!"

"When you were at Hogwarts, I had no control over what you were doing. I didn't know anything. And the fact that you stopped owling me – "

"Whoa, whoa, wait. You stopped owling me!" Ginny roared. Suddenly, she stopped. Her eyes popped open in remembrance. She remembered the pesky owl fluttering around her head until she took the letter from it. But she was studying in the Great Hall for the Advance Transfiguration exam she had that day and hadn't bothered to open it. "Oh gods," she muttered, suddenly realizing she hadn't even looked at the letter.

" – And I got worried that you thought…" he trailed. Her head was in her hands and she was sitting on her bed again. "…That you were with someone else. So I went and talked to Colin and he'd said you were really touchy feely with some guy on the Quidditch team."

"And when was this?" Ginny whispered, furious with herself.

"The middle of…May, I think. When you stopped writing and never asked me to visit, I figured we were over." He told her, shaking his head sadly.

"And what was that day in Hogsmeade, then, huh?" She demanded, upset now with him. He'd thought they were through, why sleep with her another time?

"Ginny, I love you. There's no way in hell I'm going to give up a chance to – "

"To what? To fuck me?"

" – To be with you." He concluded. She blushed furiously at her accusations "So, we spent one last really great night together."

"And it never occurred to you that maybe Colin was lying?" She asked softly, gazing at the man intently.

"Why would Colin lie to me?"

"You really are thick, aren't you? Colin's had a crush on me since first year. Of course he's going to lie to you. He even told me he could treat me so much better than you could. Of course, we'd pumped him full of firewhiskey by then…"

"…And it's not like we really kept our relationship a secret. We've been all over Hogsmeade together…"

"…It's a miracle Fred and George aren't knocking down your door to kill you as we speak." Ginny muttered, reaching over and hugging him.

Her arms wrapped around his neck felt good to him and he smiled into her shoulder. "I'm surprised no one knows by now!"

"Fred knows."

"I love you, Ginny Weasley."

"I love you, too."

The two lay back on the bed, wrapped in each other's arms and drifted off to sleep together at last.

((00))((00))

"What is HE doing here?!"

Percy's voice roared over the entire third floor of the house. He was standing in the doorway to Ginny's room, watching as she and a boy scrambled apart and out of her bed.

"Uh…"

"Hey, Perce." The boy smiled diligently, looking into the red head's eyes. The elder man just frowned at him.

"Is he the…"

Ginny nodded before Percy could get anything else out. Immediately, the ex-prefect leaned out into the hall, preparing to call for his mother and father, when Ginny rushed over to him and grabbed his arm.

"Please don't tell!" She pleaded, pursing her lips at him.

"Mum and dad have a right to know," he insisted, moving to call again.

"I will tell them. In my own time! I swear! We'll tell them together. In our OWN TIME." Ginny batted her eyelashes at her brother, watching her boyfriend pulling up his trousers out of the corner of her eye. She smiled, turning towards him, seeing the vastness of his muscled chest basking in the sunlight.

Percy seemed to contemplate Ginny's promises. One look at how she was looking at the boy, however, he leaned out and called for his parents.

Ginny's head snapped back to her brother and she glared daggers at him before rushing to the man she loved. "Go. I'll owl you, just go!" She kissed him quickly before stuffing his shirt into his hands. He kissed her again before he disapparated.

"Ha!" she told her brother, raising her fists in triumph. "You'll never be able to prove it now!"

"Yeah!" Percy agreed, grinning evilly. "Except for that huge hickey on your neck!" They heard their parents rushing up the stairs, asking Percy what was wrong.

"Oh, nothing," he grinned the evil grin again, turning to his parents. "Except that I just found out who the father of Ginny's baby is."

"How?" Arthur asked, surprised. Molly had her hand over her throat, staring at Ginny.

"I found them in bed together."

Arthur and Molly both looked to their only daughter. Ginny's head bowed in shame but enough where she could still see her parent's looks of disgust.

"And who is the boy, son?" Arthur asked with his eyes still fixed on his daughter.

"Well…"

((00))((00))

"Where've you been?" The dark haired wizard looked up, just after apparating into the family room of his shared flat, when he saw the familiar man leaning against the doorframe, wearing only a pair of faded, baggy blue jeans, his arms crossed over his bare chest.

"I've been out." He mumbled, running a hand through his messy hair.

"You were with her?" The other man asked. He watched as his friend nodded. His eyes narrowed at the sight of his mate's shirt crumpled in his arms.

"What is it with you two anyway? I thought you loved Ginny," the man didn't miss the guilty look cross his friends face and frowned skeptically. "You're not the fath – "

"Are you kidding me? No. I've never touched Ginny, Ron. Not that the thought hasn't crossed my mind…"

"Ew – big brother here, not wanting to hear that!"

The two sat in silence, basking in the early morning sunshine streaming in through the curtains. The windows were big, and when the curtains were opened, you could see the whole city of London. Hermione loved to read facing the windows. Said it helped her imagination.

"I broke it off with her," Harry Potter admitted, looking at his fingers as if they'd become the most interesting thing the wizard had ever seen.

"Really?" Ron's eyebrows shot up. "How's she take it?"

"Not good," the green eyed man admitted, looking towards Ron. He had reclined himself in a comfy chair. Ron was tossing the remote to the television in his hand, his head resting on the other.

"It probably didn't help that I shagged her right before." Ron snorted.

"Girls are like that, mate. So what'd she do?"

"Tossed me out on my arse…naked." Ron burst out laughing and Harry fixed him with a look. "It wasn't so bad. Not many people are out and about at five in the morning. At least she threw my clothes at me."

"Why'd you do it? You know, end it…" Harry looked down, but didn't say anything. Ron took it as a cue to drop the subject. The room was silent again.

"I'm about to die wondering, Ron. I want to know who did that to Ginny. I'm going to beat him to a bloody pulp…"

"Get in line, mate. There're about seven people ahead of you."

"Yeah." Harry smirked, gazing out at the busy streets of early-morning London. "And Arthur's first in line."

((00))((00))

"Ginny Weasley! You get him over here right this instant! I can't believe you didn't tell us! And to think, we had to hear it from Percy!" Molly ranted, marching down the stairs and into the kitchen. Her face was red with anger, nearly matching the color of her hair.

Ginny followed, a heated frown on her face, her arms crossed over her chest and her nose in the air. Millions of things to scream at her mother were going through her mind, but she knew she'd never say them.

Arthur marched in a similar fashion behind Ginny, his arms waving animatedly with the thoughts running through his mind. He would mutter a few words every now and then before he would stop and throw his hands in the air in some sort of distracting way.

Percy followed the group, a smug smile plastered on his face. One look from Ginny made him freeze, however. She had tears brimming her eyes, ready to fall at any moment. He cleared his throat, catching Molly and Arthur's attention. His gaze, however, was still locked on Ginny.

Instinctively, he walked towards her and wrapped her tiny frame in a hug.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear. But she just pushed him away, wiping at a stray tear that had fallen.

"Oh, Ginny!" Her mother gasped, taking Percy's place with her arms around her. Ginny hugged her mother back, crying into the elder's chest.

"Oh, mummy!" She moaned, wiping tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry!"

"Ginny, have you and he talked about this? I mean, what are you going to do? Is he taking responsibility…well, obviously if he was in your room…Are you going to get married? Where will you live? How will you pay? No one's going to want to hire a pregnant teenager!"

"Mother!" Ginny called, waving her hand in front of her mother's frantic face. Molly gazed at her daughter, noticing she'd stopped crying.

"Sit, Molly," Arthur instructed, pushing his wife gently towards a chair. Ginny followed, noticing Percy had long since left. Arthur placed two cups of hot tea in front of the women, and then sat across from his wife.

"We haven't really talked about it much." She told them honestly, thinking of last night. They'd slept for all of ten minutes before they were going at it. For some reason, she just couldn't keep her hands off of him. She smiled at the memory.

"When were you going to tell us?" Molly asked, noticing the dreamy look on her daughter's face.

"In all honesty," Ginny started, "I didn't even tell HIM until last night. He kind of already knew…"

"Yes, well, we won't even contemplate how that happened. Why didn't he stay? Why didn't you tell us?"

"Mother, do you realize that I have six brother's who are all older then him? Six. That's a lot of beatings he'd have to endure."

"Your brothers wouldn't touch him! He's been part of the family for years for heaven's sake!" Arthur muttered, before adding, "Me, on the other hand," and promptly getting a smack in the arm from Molly.

"Daddy, you wouldn't dare," Ginny told him sternly, although he had a smile on his face. "And no, we haven't really talked about what'll happen. Last night was spent doing…more productive things."

"Ginny!"

"I'm talking about sleeping. I haven't been sleeping much lately, too many things on my mind." She lied well; she didn't even blush.

"Like?"

"Like how I'm going to tell you, him, the family, his family! I won't be able to continue school. There's just so many things that I need to think about!"

"Where you'll live? If you'll get married? How you'll raise the baby?"

"No, mother, like if I'll keep the baby. Or give it up for adoption? There's this thing that muggles do that's called abortion…"

"You'll not be killing this child young lady!"

"All I'm saying, mum, is that I need to think about it."

"And discuss it with him."

"Yes, mum, and discuss it with him."

Out of no where there was a sound in the living room. It sounded like someone had just flooed in without them knowing.

Scared it was an intruder, Arthur pushed his way past the girls and into the small, cluttered room seeing a dark haired boy dusting off his black robes, his wand sticking out of a pocket in them.

"Neville Longbottom!"

"Ah! Arthur Weasley! Just the man I wanted to see."

"You have no right…"

"I believe I have every right…"

Just then, Ginny and Molly walked in. Ginny's eyes lit up when she saw her lover and she ran to his side, wrapping her arms around his neck and planting a huge kiss on his cheek.

"Neville, Ginny, you two need to talk."


	4. Part 4: Marriage, Lilies, and Intentions

Part 4:  
  
"Ginny."  
  
Ginny's eyelids fluttered opened. She vaguely remembered getting a sandwich in the middle of the night and then falling back into her bed. She muttered a spell to see what time it was. Currently, it read 3:24 a.m. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, wondering what woke her up in the first place.  
  
Then she saw it.  
  
It was the outline of a person standing next to her bed. You could tell his hands were stuffed into his pockets and he was waiting for some sort of answer.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
She should've known he'd come. She should've felt it. He'd obviously found out about her condition, or she was certain he wouldn't have come.  
  
"I came to see you," he muttered, sitting down next to her on her bed. She shifted slightly, and allowed him room to lie next to her.  
  
"I really don't have anything to say to you," she told him, turning her head away from his while lying next to him.  
  
"Is it mine?"  
  
Ginny's eyes grew wide at his not-even-trying-to-be-subtle question. She sat up immediately and stood, her hands on her hips, facing him. Her mouth was open and closing as she chose her words carefully.  
  
"How can you ask that?" she mumbled finally, backing up against the wall. She slid down, her knees resting against her chest, her chin on her knees.  
  
"Ginny - " he said, reaching for her.  
  
"NO!" She said, moving away from his touch, even though he was on the bed and couldn't reach her from where he was sitting. "How can you even ask me that question?"  
  
"I love you, Ginny."  
  
"You obviously don't trust me!" She stood up hastily, walking over to her dresser, stubbing her toe on the bed in the dark. She jumped up and down muttering 'ow' with each jump. He took two quick strides to her and wrapped her in his arms.  
  
"Shh," he told her soothingly, moving her to the bed. He pushed her against the headboard so she was mostly lying back, and then sat down, putting her feet in his lap.  
  
His hands ran over the soles of her feet, pressing gently but firmly. He smiled when she muttered an 'ohh' in pleasure. "I heard pregnant woman like their feet rubbed."  
  
Ginny sat straight up snatching her feet away from the man she loved. "Pregnant women DO like their feet rubbed. When their feet HURT. I am only a few weeks pregnant; therefore my feet are NOT sore. Thank you for ASKING." She stood up and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly.  
  
They stayed like that in silence, the man sitting on her bed twiddling with his thumbs nervously. There were so many things they wanted and needed to say to one another. Both were waiting for the other to initiate the conversation.  
  
"I'm sorry." He muttered finally.  
  
"For?" Ginny pressed, cursing under her breath that she'd fallen in love with this oaf of a man.  
  
"For accusing you of cheating on me," he paused for a moment, picking his words to say to her out of the slue of them running through his head. "Did you?"  
  
He immediately realized that was the wrong thing to say when she picked up her pillow and began hitting him with it. He tried desperately to block the blows with his hands, but immediately realized it was a lost cause and sat still, watching her pillow rip open. Feathers now littered the floor.  
  
"I can't believe you have the guts to ask that! Again! Are you stupid? You must be!" She threw the cloth that was what had been her pillow onto the floor and retook her stance, arms crossed over her chest, looking at her former lover intently.  
  
"I'm not stupid, Ginny! I hear rumors!"  
  
"You must be that thick to believe silly rumors!"  
  
"When you were at Hogwarts, I had no control over what you were doing. I didn't know anything. And the fact that you stopped owling me - "  
  
"Whoa, whoa, wait. You stopped owling me!" Ginny roared. Suddenly, she stopped. Her eyes popped open in remembrance. She remembered the pesky owl fluttering around her head until she took the letter from it. But she was studying in the Great Hall for the Advance Transfiguration test she had that day and hadn't bothered to open it. "Oh gods," she muttered, suddenly realizing she hadn't even looked at the letter.  
  
" - And I got worried that you thought." he trailed. Her head was in her hands and she was sitting on her bed again. ".That you were with someone else. So I went and talked to Colin and he'd said you were really touchy feely with some guy on the Quidditch team."  
  
"And when was this?" Ginny whispered, furious with herself.  
  
"The middle of.May, I think. When you stopped writing and never asked me to visit, I figured we were over." He told her, shaking his head sadly.  
  
"And what was that day in Hogsmeade, then, huh?" She demanded, upset now with him. He'd thought they were through, why sleep with her another time?  
  
"Ginny, I love you. There's no way in hell I'm going to give up a chance to - "  
  
"To what? To fuck me?"  
  
" - To be with you." He concluded. She blushed furiously at her accusations "So, we spent one last really great night together."  
  
"And it never occurred to you that maybe Colin was lying?" She asked softly, gazing at the man intently.  
  
"Why would Collin lie to me?"  
  
"You really are thick, aren't you? Collin's had a crush on me since first year. Of course he's going to lie to you. He even told me he could treat me so much better than you could. Of course, we'd pumped him full of firewhiskey by then."  
  
".And it's not like we really kept our relationship a secret. We've been all over Hogsmeade together."  
  
".It's a miracle Fred and George aren't knocking down your door to kill you as we speak." Ginny muttered, reaching over and hugging him.  
  
Her arms wrapped around his neck felt good to him and he smiled into her shoulder. "I'm surprised no one from the Daily Prophet or Witch Weekly has seen us together. Otherwise, it'd be on the front page."  
  
"Nah. Mum bought the latest Witch Weekly and they've dubbed you the most eligible bachelor." He leaned over and kissed her lips sweetly, smiling into the kiss.  
  
"I love you, Ginny Weasley."  
  
"I love you, too."  
  
The two lay back on the bed, wrapped in each other's arms and drifted off to sleep together at last.  
  
((00))((00))  
  
"What is HE doing here?!"  
  
Percy's voice roared over the entire third floor of the house. He was standing in the doorway to Ginny's room, watching as she and a boy scrambled apart and out of her bed.  
  
"Uh."  
  
"Hey, Perce." The boy smiled diligently, looking into the red head's eyes. The boy just frowned at him.  
  
"Is he the."  
  
Ginny nodded before Percy could get anything else out. Immediately, the ex- prefect leaned out into the hall, preparing to call for his mother and father, when Ginny rushed over to him and grabbed his arm.  
  
"Please don't tell." She pleaded, pursing her lips at him.  
  
"Mum and dad have a right to know," he insisted, moving to call again.  
  
"I will tell them. In my own time! I swear! We'll tell them together. In our OWN TIME." Ginny batted her eyelashes at her brother, watching her boyfriend pulling up his pants out of the corner of her eye. She smiled, turning towards him, seeing the vastness of his muscled chest basking in the sunlight.  
  
Percy seemed to contemplate Ginny's promises. One look at how she was looking at the boy, however, he leaned out and called for his parents.  
  
Ginny's head snapped back to her brother and she glared daggers at him before rushing to the man she loved. "Go. I'll owl you, just go!" She kissed him quickly before stuffing his shirt into his hands. He kissed her again before he apparated out.  
  
"Ha!" she told her brother, raising her fists in triumph. "You'll never be able to prove it now!"  
  
"Yeah!" Percy agreed, grinning evilly. "Except for that huge hickey on your neck!" They heard their parents rushing up the stairs, asking Percy what was wrong.  
  
"Oh, nothing," he grinned the evil grin again, turning to his parents. "Except that I just found out who the father of Ginny's baby is."  
  
"How?" Arthur asked, surprised. Molly had her hand over her throat, staring at Ginny.  
  
"I found them in bed together."  
  
Arthur and Molly both looked to their only daughter. Ginny's head bowed in shame but enough where she could still see her parent's looks of disgust.  
  
"And who is the boy, son?" Arthur asked with his eyes still fixed on his daughter."  
  
"Well."  
  
((00))((00))  
  
A/N: I hate to have to do it to you, I really do! But it's stopping here for now. FYI: Updates might come a little less frequent now. I just started my senior year in high school today, so homework is sure to ensue.  
  
Until next time.  
  
I know and you don't, I know and you don't! 


	5. Part 5: Friends

Papa Don't Preach

Part 5: Friends

The shrill whistle of steam through the spout on the tea kettle cut through the silent kitchen. Harry stood, gawking at Ginny, who was fidgeting uncomfortably. She shifted her weight from her left foot to her right. The seriousness of the situation weighed down on the pair like lead on their shoulders.

"Wha…what?!" Harry screeched, disbelievingly. He quickly moved the kettle off of the burner before he turned around and stared at his friend.

"Abortions," Ginny said with a slight raise of her chin, not willing to let Harry teeter her confidence. "What do you know about them?"

Harry's mouth fell open in shock. _She's not joking_, he thought. He sputtered a bit before shaking his head and summoning two mugs out of the cupboard. They landed on the table a bit harder than he had intended, and Ginny jumped slightly. Shaking his head and muttering to himself, Harry continued moving about the kitchen finishing preparing the tea. His movements were jerky. While pouring the hot water, he nearly spilled it all over Ginny's front. And then his eyes moved back to her tank top. Stretched over a nice pair of…

"Harry."

His eyes snapped to the redhead in front of him, and he blushed. _I can't believe I'm thinking about her chest when she's asking me such questions! _He placed the kettle back on the stove and sat across from her.

"I don't…I mean, I'm not…I really don't know what to say, Gin." He took a large gulp of his tea, the hot liquid burning his throat. It sloshed over then side of his mug and splashed onto the table. Harry quickly rose from his seat to clean up the mess, but Ginny was quicker. She muttered a cleaning spell at the puddle of tea and then looked up at Harry, tucking her wand back in to the waist band of her shorts.

"Stop stalling, Harry."

"I'm not. I just…Gin…oh buggar…" He plopped back down into his seat, shaking his head. "I don't think I'm the best person to be asking about this," he finally muttered, taking care to blow on the steaming liquid before taking a sip. It didn't help much and he winced when the liquid slid down his already burned throat.

"You're the only one I trust to ask," she confessed, sipping at her own tea. "I mean, Mum will freak out, and the rest of the gits don't know anything about muggle procedures…" she trailed, glancing out of the kitchen window. The stairs to the fire escape ran at a diagonal across the window. _Why did they choose to live in a muggle neighborhood?_ she shook her head before returning her gaze to Harry.

"What about Hermione? I mean, she knows loads more stuff about muggles. It's not like my childhood was very educational."

"I'm pretty sure I know the gist of it, and Hermione wouldn't approve of anything like that! She wouldn't even tell me because she wouldn't want me to do it!"

"I don't know much. Just that it's a dodgy procedure that's done by dodgy doctors in dodgy neighborhoods…"

"Oh Harry, that's so stereotypical!"

"…and, I mean, well…it seems painful, you know. And not just physically. You know…emotionally, too…yeah." Harry took a deep breath, draining the liquid in his mug. He stood up in search for something stronger. "Why would you want to do that, anyway?"

"I don't know if I do, Harry. I'm just trying to keep my options open." She stood and followed him as he walked out of the kitchen and down the hall to the spare bedroom they were using as an office/library for all of Hermione's books.

"What are you doing?" she wondered aloud, watching him walk over to the large desk that ran along the far wall. He opened the cabinet on the bottom, reached in all the way to the back, and pulled out a bottle of amber colored liquid.

"I need something stronger for this conversation," he stated simply before unscrewing the bottle and taking a long swig. He winced and shook his head, damn that burns. He walked over to the couch and plopped down. _I like this couch,_ he thought, smiling to himself. _All red and squishy…red…like blood…_he blanched and looked up at Ginny.

She strode over and sat at the opposite end, tucking her feet up under her. Her hands fell into her lap, and her hands clasped together. Harry took another drink from the bottle and tilted his head back against the couch. He closed his eyes.

After a few tense moments of silence, he opened one eye and looked at her. "What do you want to do this for anyway, Gin? It's not like you."

"I know," she mumbled. "Pregnancy changes a person," she grumbled out, pulling one leg out from under her and pulling it up to her chest.

"Gin…"

"Well, you know, now's not the best time to have a baby. I just finished school; I have my whole life ahead of me!"

"Shouldn't have forgotten the contraceptive," he took another sip, nearly choking when she launched herself at him.

"Smarmy git…" she muttered, her fists hitting his arm and chest. She only hit him a few times before she swung herself up. "You know what? I really don't need this. People make mistakes, Harry. You of all people should know that! And yeah, I wasn't as careful as I should've been. But it happened, and I have…" her eyes closed for a second, a wave of anguish washing over her. Her legs gave out and suddenly she was kneeling on the floor.

"Gin…"

"I can't do this alone, Harry. I just can't."

Then, she promptly burst into tears.

((00))((00))

Ginny's crying only worsened once Harry began telling her the mechanics of the procedure. Abortions were basically unheard of in the magical community. It would be the equivalent of using an unforgivable. In Molly Weasley's eyes it _would_ be unforgivable. Ginny could hear the conversation in her head.

"Don't be so selfish, Ginerva. If you do that…that muggle thing…you're just as good as killing a member of this family. No, I won't stand for it. Get your things and get out. You are no daughter of mine."

Yes, Ginny was sure her mum would toss her out like a piece of trash. She told this to Harry and he laughed a bit. "Your mum would not treat you like garbage. She's the kindest person I know!"

"You are not her child, Harry Potter. She's kind to you…but behind closed doors…"

"She's not that bad!"

"Okay, okay, she _probably_ wouldn't toss me on my arse…"

"I know she wouldn't." Harry stated firmly. He'd long ago pulled Ginny back onto the couch, and now he drew his arm up and put it awkwardly over her shoulders. Ginny seemed to be okay with this and leaned her head against his shoulder. They sat in silence for a few moments.

"Is there any other reason you don't want this baby?" He asked softly.

"You mean besides the fact that the father deserted me for some tart, I'm 18 years old, I don't have a job, still live with my parents…" Ginny bit out. Harry chuckled softly.

"Yeah, besides all of that."

Ginny paused for a moment before sitting up straight and turning sideways, letting Harry's arm fall off of her shoulder. He mimicked her position and they looked at each other.

"I got accepted into the Clearwater Academy for Healing and Mediwizardry," she told him softly. She was surprised when he took her hand.

"Ginny that's fantastic!"

"I know, right?" She said bitterly, yanking her hand back from his.

"Well, I mean, you can still go. You could go after the baby is born," he suggested. He frowned when she shook her head.

"No, I can't. That school is the BEST school for healing in Europe, if not the world. The school itself has won dozens of awards and prizes for it programs, not to mention the professors…" she stared off dreamily for a second before she returned her gaze to Harry. "It's incredibly hard to get in to. I had to beg Madame Pomfrey to write a letter of recommendation. I didn't have to beg McGonagall, but she had the nerve to tell me not to get my hopes up."

"You showed her."

"And this is the only way I'll be able to attend! I'm thinking about my future, here." Ginny sighed and sat proper on the couch before pulling her legs under her.

"So, what are you going to do?" Harry wondered aloud. He picked at a loose string on the couch, deciding it was probably in his best interest to look anywhere but at the fiery redhead next to him.

"It's for the best, Harry."

That was what Harry was afraid of.

((00))((00))

It was the beginning of July before Ginny would allow her mother to take her to St. Mungos for her first official healer appointment. She was to have gone earlier in the month, but by that time she had barricaded herself in her room and Molly was forced to cancel.

Now Molly led her daughter through the corridors up to the maternity ward. Molly signed her daughter in and Ginny immediately threw herself into one of the uncomfortable chairs. She looked at the table next to her and saw a magazine. The cover had a baby on it, something was shoved in its mouth, and on the outside of that something was a picture of a golden snitch, its wings fluttering slowly. Ginny moved herself away from the table.

"Should be about fifteen minutes," her mum told her, sliding into the chair next to her. "You all right, dear? You look a bit peaky."

"Just a bit nauseous, mum. That's all." She rolled her eyes, but smartly turned where her mother wouldn't see her.

"Here." The older witch hoisted a maroon bag onto her lap and pulled out a piece of chocolate. "Eat this. It should help with the morning sickness. We can pick up some more on the way home."

Ginny sighed, but took the chocolate anyway. Really, the thought of eating anything made her stomach churn even more, but she stuffed it into her mouth to appease her mum anyway.

The waiting area was nearly full. Witches, and a few wizards, of all ages sat in the chairs along the four walls of the room, waiting patiently for their name to be called. Ginny noticed the woman directly across from her. She was short. Her belly stuck out about as far as she was tall. She had on a long dress that made her look huge. And to top it off, there was a little boy sitting on either side of her. _At least they're quiet,_ she thought. Then she noticed the boy on the right struggling to move. And his lips were moving rapidly. _Silencing _and_ sticking charms. Bloody brilliant, that one._

"Ginerva Weasley?" a voice called from the door. Ginny looked toward the woman, startled at first. Then she stood up and followed the lady, her mum close behind her, her bag clutched to her chest. "Right this way," the woman in pink robes told her, leading the duo down the hallway to an examination room. She took her weight and height before looking up and smiling at Ginny. "Remove all of your clothes, you can keep your knickers on, and cover up with this–" she handed Ginny a cloth dressing gown " – tied in the front at the top. Healer Patrick will be in shortly." With that, the woman left and Ginny looked pointedly at her mother.

"Oh for heavens sake, Ginny, I gave birth to you. I've seen it all before."

((00))((00))

"Everything seems to be just fine." Healer Cindy Patrick was a young, tall woman, with red thick framed glasses (which clashed with her shocking lime green robes) and blonde hair, pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. She had a friendly smile that could not ease Ginny's nerves.

"You are about ten weeks along, a quarter of the way through. Have you been having much nausea during the day?"

Ginny shook her head, sitting up on the table and grasping the gown to her chest. Molly, who had moved behind her for the exam, came up to Ginny's side.

"Good, good. That's good. Only a few more weeks and you should be out of the woods for any possible miscarriage." She was busy scribbling notes onto a piece of parchment and didn't notice Ginny's intake of breath. Molly did, however. "I'll have Emmanuelle schedule your next visit for a month from today. By then we should be able to tell the sex of the baby."

"Oh won't that be fantastic?" Molly clapped her hands together happily. "Remind me to have your father get your old crib out of the attic for you…oh I do hope that ghoul hasn't broken it…" she muttered the last part to herself before looking up at the healer, embarrassed she'd gotten off track.

"If you have any problems, please contact me at any time. Here's my floo address," she handed a piece of parchment to Molly, her information scribed neatly on the top, along with a list of reading material she suggested. "I look forward to seeing you. Goodbye Ginny."

Ginny waved at her slightly while Molly thanked her profusely, even as the healer was trying to close the door behind herself. Molly was smiling when she turned to Ginny. "Oh, there's just so much to do! It's been so long since there has been a baby at the Burrow…" Ginny could tell that her mum was mentally listing everything she planned on doing and Ginny looked at her awkwardly.

"Um, mum?" She motioned to her still robe clad form.

"Oh, I suppose you want to get dressed? Well, I will be just outside the door, dear. Hurry up, will you? I've got a few stops I want to make on the way home."

((00))((00))

Dinner that evening was quiet. It was just Ginny and her parents. Usually there was someone else at the Burrow for supper, but tonight everyone seemed to have plans. Everyone except Ginny.

Bill and Charlie were at the pub with some old friends from Hogwarts, the twins ate at their own flat (their girlfriends were cooking for them), Ron, Hermione, and Harry were at their flat, and Percy had a date (yes, a date!).

Molly was chatting with her husband about Ginny's doctor's appointment. Arthur looked rather embarrassed about being let in on all of the gory details of his youngest and only daughter. Ginny picked at her food, her stomach churning at the sight.

"I think I will go lay down," Ginny said just as Molly began explaining the examination procedure to her beet red husband.

"Are you okay, dear?" Molly's concern was evident in her voice and Ginny smiled, nodding.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit ill. Maybe I will take a bath."

"That's a good idea. Goodnight sweetheart." Arthur rose and kissed her forehead before returning to his seat. "So, other than Ginny's appointment, how was your day, dear?" Arthur asked as Ginny left the room.

Ginny headed up to her room, put the appropriate silencing and locking charms on her door, and disapparated.

She appeared in front of the now familiar door. She had been doing this enough lately that she wasn't surprised when the door opened as soon as she appeared. "Hurry," Hermione whispered. Gesturing her to come in.

"You know, if you would just fix the bloody wards I could apparate inside and not have to worry about your muggle neighbors seeing me." Hermione was leading her into the kitchen, smiling to her friend.

"I've been so busy at work. The muggle police were 'round the other day. Said someone kept hearing gun shots…are you okay?"

Ginny's face had just contorted in disgust. "What is that smell?"

"I'm just making some mash. Would you like some?" From the look on Ginny's face, Hermione would have to say no. In fact, the elder of the girls was startled when she was forced out of the way.

Ginny ran through the flat, her hand covering her mouth, and entered the loo without knocking. She barely made it to the toilet before she was heaving out what little she'd eaten that day. She retched as much as she could, and then sat back on her haunches. She wiped her hand over her mouth and looked around. Only then did she notice she wasn't alone in the loo.

Steam filled the room and she looked up at the tub. Harry smiled down at her, his head poking around the curtain. The next instant the water was off. A long, dark haired arm reached out of the curtain and took hold of the towel hanging on the rack, dragging it back inside. A moment later, the curtain opened and Harry stepped out dripping wet.

Ginny's mouth dropped open at the muscular chest that greeted her. His pectoral muscles were well defined, leading down to a chiseled abdomen. Her eyes bugged out of her head when she saw the thin line of dark hair trailing down and underneath the towel.

"Alright there, Gin?" Harry asked, taking hold of his glasses from the back of the toilet and sliding them up his nose.

"Ye-"she started, but another wave of nausea hit her as smells from the kitchen drifted in and then she was retching again. She barely noticed a hand rubbing her back until she was finished. She sat back again, feeling completely at ease with Harry rubbing her back and whispering soothing words into her ear.

"Oi!" Ron came to stand in the doorway, eyeing his best mate and baby sister suspiciously. "What is going on here?"

"Ginny got a bit sick," Hermione was saying behind him. His arms were on either side of the door frame, and Hermione had to duck under one to see into the room.

"I'm fine," Ginny insisted, disappointed at the loss of Harry's touch when he stood up.

"There are two loos, you know." Ron folded his arms across his chest.

Ginny stood. "I'll be sure to remember that next time I'm trying to hold back my puke, bro."

"Do you guys mind?" Harry asked, gesturing to his towel covered body.

"Sorry mate." Ron grabbed Ginny's arm and dragged her out of the loo. She was about to protest that she should leave because of the smell, anyway, but Hermione had opened all of the windows to air out the flat and the offending smell was gone.

Ginny went over to the sink and quickly rinsed out her mouth. Hermione and Ron followed and were seated at the table when she turned. Ron had a copy of the Daily Prophet out and was checking on Quidditch scores. Hermione glanced at Ginny and then down at her supper.

Ginny sat at the table next to Hermione and across from Ron, pulling one leg up to her chest and resting her chin on it.

"Why do you always sit like that?" Ron asked. He hadn't even looked up from the paper. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Because it's comfortable," she stated plainly. She thought for a moment before adding, "Besides, soon I won't be able to sit like this."

"Hey!" Ginny liked to go there after saying goodnight to her parents because her brother got all embarrassed when anyone talked about his pregnant sister. And Ginny was more than willing to not talk about it. That's all any of her brothers and her parents seemed to want to talk about these days and Ginny welcomed the break.

Harry entered the room in his workout shorts and a tee shirt that stretched tight across his chest. He was toweling off his hair. When he finished, he tossed the towel down the hall towards his room. "I hate it when you do that, Harry," Hermione muttered, taking her empty plate to the sink.

"That's why I do it, 'Mione. Just to bug you!"

"Well it's not very nice."

"Sorry." But he wasn't.

"Let's do something. Please. Mum is driving me crazy at home. I'm locked up there all day with nothing to do. She won't even let me see my friends!" _I guess that's what happens when you get knocked up!_ a voice in her head shouted, but she ignored it.

"What would you like to do, Ginny?" Hermione asked, her hands on the back of Ron's chair. Ron put down the newspaper and looked at Ginny.

"How about one of those muggle movies! The last one we saw was _so_ good!"

Ron and Harry groaned. Hermione pursed her lips and looked down at her boyfriend. Ron looked up at his girlfriend. "Is it going to be one of those chick flicks again? Where you both end up blubbering like babies-" Hermione's eyes met Ginny's for a moment, "-and crying on my shoulder all night?"

Hermione's choice of movie the last time they'd had a movie night had been Titanic. Both Ginny and Hermione cried when Jack died at the end, but Ron and Harry saw humor in the situation.

The credit were rolling and Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" was playing as the names scrolled from the bottom of the screen to the top. Ginny and Hermione were sitting next to each other on the couch, tears leaking out of their eyes. Ron sniggered and stood up.

_He knelt down next to Harry who was laying on the floor. They grasped hands for a moment and then Ron stood. "I'll never let go Harry…I'll never let go!" He cried dramatically. Harry got up onto his knees_

"_Good you prat, I'm not d-dead yet." Harry faked shivered and Ron laughed._

"_Damn. But how will I ever get away with taking your last name to fake my mum and ex-fiancé into thinking I 'went down with the ship'?"_

"_I'm holding on for you my love!"_

"_Well let go!"_

"_I'm drowning…I'm gurgle drowing…"_

"_I'm letting go Harry! I'm letting go!"_

Yes, it had been a barrel of laughs for the two insensitive prats. They did not, however, count on having to tend to two very emotional, one pregnant, girls after their little show. The girls had not been laughing.

Well, Ginny had smiled a little bit through her tears. But she stood strong on the woman front with Hermione after that.

"Actually," Hermione broke the silence, "I was thinking of something with a bit more action. Maybe some suspense. You boys won't be disappointed. Come on," she kissed Ron's forehead before turning and walking into the living room.

The three others followed and settled into their respective seats. Ron was on the loveseat, where Hermione would join him once the movie was playing. Harry sat on the other couch. Ginny sat next to him and pulled her legs up onto the couch, plopping them onto Harry's lap. Harry looked up and arched an eyebrow at her. She smiled and then pouted a bit. He sighed, his calloused hands beginning to work on her bare feet. Somehow she'd lost her slip on shoes between the kitchen and the living room.

"You're going to have to show me how to work that one day, Hermione," Ginny told her from the couch, trying to moan from the pleasure of skilled hands on her feet.

"It's not hard. You just have to-"

"She said later, love." Ron cut in, knowing if his girlfriend got started it was likely the movie would never begin.

"Anyone want any refreshments?" Hermione asked, standing up. She noticed the look of content on Ginny's face and looked towards her boyfriend. "Help me?" She asked. Ron groaned but stood up. After drink and snack orders had been taken, Hermione led Ron into the kitchen.

"About the…thing…" Ginny trailed, leaning close to Harry, her legs still stretched out on his lap.

"The abor-" Ginny clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shh! Hermione!" She reminded him in a harsh whisper. "You're still going with me, right?"

"Gin-"

"Please, Harry. You're the only one I trust."

"Ginny…okay." He conceited, noting the look of determination mixed with fear in her eyes. Relief washed over her and she sat back a little.

"It's got to be this week."

"Why this week?"

"Because if I wait too long then I will be too far along and won't be able to do it. I need to do it soon!"

"Well, I'm out of practice noon tomorrow. Ron and Hermione will be out until after six and then it's their date night."

"Great, come pick me up after practice." With that settled, Ginny sat back and wiggled her feet.

"Gin, I'm not –" but he stopped short when Hermione and Ron returned with glasses of pumpkin juice and two bowls of popcorn.

"Ready for the movie?" Hermione bounced excitedly over to the VCR and pushed 'play.'

"What's this movie called?" Ron asked as Hermione snuggled up next to him and grabbed a handful of popcorn out of the bowl.

"Jurassic Park," Hermione answered. "It's about Dinosaurs." She laughed at the confused looks on her friends' faces. "Just watch it!"

((00))((00))

The credits scrolled over the screen. Hermione sat up off of Ron and stretched. Her back popped and she groaned. She turned and saw her boyfriend snoring softly. She smiled, and then smacked him on the arm.

"Wha –" He sat up straight. Once he noticed where he was, he turned to Hermione. "Movie over already?"

"Yeah, I guess it was a tad boring for you."

"No!" He insisted. "It was a long day. Training was grueling…" he trailed off, noticing she was not focused on him. She was smiling, though, and he turned to see what it was at.

Through the movie, the other two friends had shifted places. Harry had sat up, his arm thrown over the back of the couch, as Ginny leaned against him. Harry's other hand was on Ginny's forearm, her head nuzzled into the side of his neck.

"I feel bad for waking them," Hermione whispered to Ron. Ron was still looking at his sister and best mate.

"She's pregnant…"

"They're just friends, Ron. And so what? That doesn't mean she'll be alone forever. She will eventually get over Neville and then she'll find someone new. If it's Harry, then it's Harry. Don't you want your sister happy?"

"Of course –"

Ginny began to wake and Ron stopped talking. She opened her eyes and slowly sat up. "Sorry," she muttered to Hermione. "It really was a good movie. I'm just so exhausted."

"Don't worry about it, Gin. We all fell asleep." Hermione motioned to Harry who was snoring softly behind Ginny. "I really hate to wake him…"

"You have to," Ron insisted. Standing up and stretching. Ginny shot him a questioning look. "He's got practice early and he won't wake up without an alarm."

Ginny's gaze flicked over to the clock hanging on the wall above the television and gasped. "It's almost one in the morning. I hope Mum didn't try to check on me!"

"You'd better get going," Harry muttered from behind her. She jumped a bit, and turned to slap him on the chest.

"Git, we thought you were asleep."

"Nope been awake the whole time." He grinned at her.

She grinned back.

"Okay, break it up. Mate, you need to get to bed. Gin, you need to get home before mum has the whole ministry looking for you. Love, we need to get to bed, too," he waggled his eyebrows at her and Hermione giggled.

"Night, all." And the two were scuttling down the hall.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Harry," Ginny muttered, leaning down to kiss him on the forehead. She went into the kitchen and slid into her shoes.

"'Night Gin," Harry called. She waved and then disapparated with a loud 'crack.'

Harry shook his head. He did not want to think about what she would be doing the next day. If he thought about it, he'd have nightmares. He'd just gotten the visions of his friends dying out of his head, he didn't really need anymore scary dreams.

With a shake of his head, Harry stood, stretched, and went to bed. As he fell asleep, he didn't dream of the next day's events. Instead, he dreamt of a redhead snuggled up against him as they slept.

((00))((00))


	6. Part 6: The Clinic

Papa Don't Preach

Part 6: The Clinic

The tension in the first floor corridor was thick. Very thick. So thick, Ginny realized she would need a knife just to get to the door. The redhead chanced a glance at the older woman and saw the look of fury on her face. The expression on Ginny's matched equally. In fact, she was more furious, if that could be.

Her mother had caught her sneaking back in to her room early in the morning, around one, and had immediately demanded to know where her youngest had been. Ginny flushed, slightly, and tried to move in to her room. The charms she'd placed had been lifted before she had returned. Her mum blocked her path and began ranting.

"I'm sorry," Ginny told her, her eyes cast downward.

"You sure seem to be sorry a lot these days."

Ginny's eyes shot up and saw her eldest brother a few steps behind their mother, his arms crossed over his chest, his jaw set in anger. Even in his pajamas he still looked frightening when angry. Ginny's mouth drop at the statement that had come out of Bill's mouth.

He had been the one brother that was always on her side. He punished the rest of the lot for messing with Ginny. He had resorted to using fists to pummel Fred and George when they'd turned her teddy bear into a spider (much as they had done Ron's). He was the one who sat Ron down and gave him a talking to about the "duties of a big brother" after the fiasco in Ginny's first year had happened.

Now, though…now he was against her.

And that thought hurt Ginny worse than anything any of her brothers had ever done to her; anything her mum could ever say to her.

Ginny's eyes filled with tears and she rushed to cover them. Molly pulled her daughter into a hug, and was surprised when Ginny slumped against her. The younger girl buried her face in her mum's chest and sobbed.

"Hormones," Molly mouthed to Bill when she noticed the guilt-stricken look on his face. He nodded, but leaned against the wall and watched the women all the same.

"I'm sorry," Ginny said again, pulling away from her mum and wiping impatiently at her eyes. Her face was red and splotchy, the whites of her eyes were getting redder. "I was at Ron and Hermione's," she told them once she'd calmed down a bit.

"Here, let's go into the kitchen, dear." Her mum led her down the stairs and into the kitchen, gently urging her towards a chair and moving towards the stove to put on the kettle.

"I don't want any tea, Mum." Ginny watched as Bill came into the room and sat in a chair opposite her. Her mum nodded and sat down next to him, her hands in her lap. The two looked at Ginny, waiting for her explanation.

"Well…" Ginny started, her eyes moving from the table to the wall behind the table and then back. "I've been going to Ron and Hermione's almost every night for the past couple of weeks. Usually we just sit around and talk, or play games, or watch the telly…"

"Why didn't you say something?" Molly asked, her hands flat on the table now. Bill reached down and took her hand.

"I feel like I'm a prisoner in my own house, mother. I can't go anywhere or do anything. I can't go see my friends, or talk to anyone and owl post takes too long. And all you and daddy want to talk about is the damn baby. I want to talk about other things. Like Quidditch, or dad's work, or the latest issue of Witch Weekly if it means I don't have to talk about the baby! Ron and Hermione…and Harry…they give me that."

"Why didn't you just say that?"

"I tried. It's not like you give me much of a choice. I need to be around people my own age, mum. As much as I love spending time with you while dad's at work…I'm 18. Twelve hours a day with you is a little much."

"Ginny!" Bill cried. Clearly what she said had upset their mother.

"Well, if that's how you feel…"

"…maybe I should move in with them," Ginny finished her mum's words, half expecting a tongue lashing in return. She looked up when there was no response. Her mum's lips were pursed and she looked angry. Her face was flushed, but her eyes held no emotion.

"If that's what you think is best…"

"It is."

"Fine."

"Great! I will talk to them tomorrow!" Ginny jumped up and ran up to her room.

Soon she was asleep, and she missed the sounds of her mother's crying throughout the night.

((00))((00))

She ran her hands over the front of her navy blue sleeveless shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles that weren't there. She did it again. Then, she sat on her bed and slid on her trainers, tying the laces into knots at the top of her foot. She stood up and smoothed her shirt down again. She walked to the mirror and ran a hand through her hair. She tried to flatten the top, but it was no use. Finally, she decided to wear it up.

She smoothed her shirt down.

"Come on, Harry." She looked at her watch she'd gotten for Christmas from Hermione. Harry was ten minutes late. She had a feeling he wasn't going to show up. She looked at it again, and then smoothed down her shirt.

"Ginny!" her mother called her from the bottom of the staircase. Ginny rolled her eyes and left her room. She leaned over the banister at the first floor landing and asked her mum what she wanted. "Harry's here for you, dear. Says he wants to take you shopping."

Ginny did not miss the gleam in her mother's eye.

"Oh!" Ginny said finally. "Okay, I will be down in a moment." She went back into her room and went over a mental checklist. _Identification? Check. Muggle money? Check. Wand? Will I need my wand? No, there's no where to put it. Harry will have his for sure. I think that's everything._

She clomped down the stairs and into the kitchen. She saw Harry sitting at the table, a plate of biscuits in front of him, undoubtedly put there by her mother. She could almost here her mother saying, _"Harry! You look much too thin. Sit! Eat!" _She rolled her eyes at him. He smiled at her, though the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Bye mum," Ginny leaned over and kissed her mother's cheek.

"But Harry hasn't finished his plate! You have plenty of time. You haven't even eaten lunch yet. I'll whip up some sandwiches quickly."

"Actually, Mrs. Weasley, we are going to get lunch at the Leaky Cauldron before we shop. I kind of owe Ginny for a few years worth of Birthday presents," he smiled sheepishly at the elder witch, standing up and looking pointedly at Ginny. "We should go," he turned back to Molly. "You know how girls are when they shop. Takes hours to pick out one pair of shoes."

"Yes, mum, we'd better go." Harry led the way to the fireplace and then did an "after you" gesture. Ginny stepped forward and soon was whirling past grates towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"Are you hungry?" Harry asked, stepping out of the fireplace after her. Ginny put her hand over her queasy stomach and shook her head. No, she had been sick all morning and didn't think eating would be a good idea. "That's okay. They said you shouldn't eat right before it, anyway."

"What?" Ginny sputtered, looking at Harry.

"Oh, I called this morning before practice. You have to have an appointment, you know. The girl was really nice. You got the last opening today at two o'clock. I figured we'd better actually do some shopping before hand so your mum will think we were shopping all day." Noticing Ginny's stunned face, he added, "If that's okay," for good measure.

"Wonderful. Thanks Harry, you're brilliant."

Harry's face got red as the blush crept up his neck.

"We have to hurry, though."

The duo waved to Tom, the barkeep, before they exited the pub and were on the streets of London.

((00))((00))

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" Harry was apologizing to passers by as he rushed onto the platform. Ginny had suddenly turned green as they were riding the tube and as soon as the doors opened she had darted out. His eyes scanned the many people on the platform.

Then he saw her.

Her head was bent over a trash receptacle.

He rushed over to her and immediately started rubbing her back. He leaned over and whispered soothing words in her ear, moving her hair out of the way and holding it stationary underneath his other hand. "Shh…" he whispered as she began whimpering. Her arms were on either side of the bin and she leaned her forehead against the right.

"I hate this," she muttered, tears prickling her eyes. She stood up straight and wiped impatiently at her mouth. "I cannot wait for this to be over."

"Gin…" he started pulling her towards him, but she brushed him off.

"Look, there's the loo. I should go rinse." And then she was off again, crossing in front of people impatiently.

"Ginny!" Harry cried, exasperated. He followed her and reached the loo just as she was going in. He threw his hands up, resigned. Harry leaned against the wall and stuffed his hands into his jean trousers, fingering the shrunken packages.

Five minutes later she exited and he grabbed her arm, pulling her to him. "You can NOT run off like that, or I will take you home, do you understand?" His frustration and anger evident in his voice. She looked into his eyes, which had darkened significantly, and sighed.

"Sorry. I'm just nervous."

"You don't have to do this, you know," he reminded her, pulling her towards him and wrapping both arms around her shoulders.

"I know. I know." She leaned in to his chest.

"It's not too late," he mumbled. She pulled back slightly and smiled.

"Thanks, Harry. You're the best."

"We should take a taxi from here," he suggested after kissing her forehead. The kiss had sent a chill down her back and she shuddered; Harry pulled her closer.

"That's probably a good idea." Then her voice lowered. "How do muggles do this every day? It's horrible!"

"It probably is better when you are not nauseous," mentioned Harry as she moved away from him. He reached for her hand and then they were moving towards the escalators.

"Wow," Ginny breathed as the moving stairs brought her to street level. Harry hailed a taxi as best he could and then they were moving again. He read the address off of the slip of paper and then sat back, throwing his arm over Ginny's shoulder. She snuggled into his embrace.

After a twenty minute ride, the car stopped at the corner of Whitfield and Maple streets in Central London. Ginny scooted out of the automobile, staring up at the buildings surrounding her. About half a block down was a building with a large sign on it stating the place was 'Marie Stopes House.' Ginny could only assume that was where they were headed because outside, and being held off by muggle police, were a dozen or so people with poster and signs. The people were yelling at anyone walking into or out of the building.

"Is that it?" Ginny asked as Harry closed the door and the driver sped off. Harry glanced across the street where she was looking and nodded. "Who are those people?"

"Protesters, I assume." At Ginny's scared look, his eyes softened. "Abortion is a sensitive issue almost everywhere in the world. Some places it's not even legal." Ginny's eyes shot toward Harry and he sighed. "Not because it's dangerous, which it can be in some cases, but because it's controversial. Some people say it's ending a life; some people say it's not really alive until it's born…" Ginny gulped audibly. "They can't do anything to you, you know. Legally, they can't touch you." Ginny nodded, but gripped his hand tightly. "Are you ready? It's almost two." Ginny nodded and they headed across the street.

"Keep your head down," the officer said as the two approached the building. Ginny's head was spinning at the insults and accusations being spat at her. A few of the protesters were trying to convince her not to go through with it. She barely heard Harry telling the person at the door her name and purpose before they were escorted inside. The two went through a series of metal detectors before they were led up to a receptionists desk.

"Hello," an older woman with black hair smiled warmly at the two. Ginny was still quiet when Harry told her, once again, their name and purpose. The woman gave a sympathetic smile in Ginny's direction before handing Harry a clipboard with a stack of papers attached to it.

"She needs to fill out and sign everything on the forms and then bring them up to the desk to pay." Harry thanked the woman, took the clipboard and pen out of the jar, and headed into the waiting room. Ginny followed, not even remembering him dropping her hand.

She sat down in the waiting room amid women who seemed to be paired off in twos. There were a few men there, but they were greatly outnumbered. Harry handed her the clipboard and she numbly took it. Her hands shook when she took the pen, then she looked up at Harry.

"Are you sure?" He whispered, leaning closely to her. She nodded and he smiled down at her. Tears welled in her eyes, but she smiled through them. "Here, I will do it."

He began filling out the paper work. He stopped a few times to find out the information from Ginny, who was watching him over his shoulder. She smiled when he put the phone and address to his flat down as hers. _You don't have a telephone and you can receive regular mail at the Burrow,_ she thought. _That's why he did that. No other reason._

He listed himself as an Emergency contact, and then Hermione. Harry handed her the papers to sign and she smiled, mouthing 'thank you' to him before walking back up to the receptionist's desk. There was a different woman there, with curly brown hair and piercing, sympathetic eyes. She smiled at Ginny and took the clipboard from her. Her eyes scanned the papers, making sure all of them were signed, before turning her gaze back to Ginny.

"Okay, that'll be £500." Ginny's eyes widened. She knew she didn't have that much muggle money. She looked towards Harry and caught his eye. She then looked down and pulled her money out of the front pocket of her jeans. She counted it out. Not nearly that.

Harry was beside her, though, and he had paid before she even had her money out. The woman behind the counter looked at Harry suspiciously, but took the money. She put it in a money bag before handing Ginny another sheet of paper. "First, you'll have an ultrasound to determine how far along you are." Ginny thought to interrupt her and say she had just found out, but then decided against it. "Then you will meet with a counselor to discuss options. If those both go well, the last step is the procedure. The whole process should only take about two hours. There are a few people ahead of you for the exam, so it may be a while before you're seen. Any questions?" Ginny bit her lip.

"Can he…can Harry…can Harry come with me?" She looked up at Harry and blushed, looking back down. She smiled slightly.

"He can be with you for the ultrasound. The counseling session is a one on one, and then the procedure is in a sterile environment so only you and the doctor will be allowed in." Ginny nodded and gave her a half smile. "The nurse will call you when they're ready for you." She nodded again before walking back to her seat.

Harry trailed behind her, scratching the back of his head as he went. He sank down onto the seat next to her and she leaned against his shoulder, threading her arm through his. He grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together, leaning his head onto hers.

They watched as one by one girls were called back for their exams or counseling sessions. The two had been sitting for fifteen minutes before Ginny suddenly sat up and turned to Harry. She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but she closed it again. She frowned slightly, then opened her mouth again.

"Weasley, Ginerva?" A young woman with long blond hair and a clipboard said. She was holding a heavy looking door open with her foot, her head down towards the clipboard.

Ginny stood and the girl looked up, smiling at her. She made a mark on her clipboard then looked to Ginny expectantly. Ginny turned to Harry, who nodded, and then she headed towards the girl. Harry followed them.

The halls were a painted a pale blue; bright lights shone down on them. There was an indiscriminant painting every few feet. They seemed to march on forever until they reached the end of the hallway. The group entered a room with no door, which seemed more like a little alcove than an actual room.

Cupboards lined the walls, save for an uncomfortable looking chair, and there were posters on the bare white walls. One poster labeled the stages of pregnancy. Another poster outlined the pros and cons each type of muggle birth control. Harry was reading that one.

"Please step up here Miss Weasley. It is Miss?" The woman asked, glancing towards Harry, who had covered his mouth to hide his smirk at the poster.

"Yes." Ginny glared at her, but smiled sweetly when she turned back to her.

"Great, please step on the scale."

Ginny was hurtled into a series of tests: weight, height, temperature, blood pressure. She watched the girl watching Harry every few seconds and scowled. Then, the woman walked over to a drawer and pulled out a cloth and a sort of stand with a bunch of slots in it. Inside a few of the slots were three empty vials.

"We are going to have to draw some blood, Miss Weasley." Ginny nodded, never having had blood drawn from her before. She winced when the woman strapped a thick piece of rubbery elastic about halfway between her right elbow and shoulder. "Squeeze your right hand into a tight fist and hold it," she commanded, pushing down on the flesh of her inner elbow.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked. The woman looked up at him and smiled widely.

"Trying to find a vein on your girlfriend," she smiled again. "A ha!" She found one. "This may hurt a touch."

Harry grasped Ginny's hand as the woman stuck her with the needle. Ginny's eyes squeezed shut. The girl filled the three tubes with blood before Ginny's eyes opened again.

She let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding.

"If you think that's painful, wait for the actual procedure. It hurts a lot less than actual child birth, I hear, though." Ginny scowled at the woman as she placed a cotton ball on the puncture mark. "Firm pressure, please." Ginny held on to her arm tightly. The girl placed a bandage on the cotton ball and led them to another room down the hall. "Undress all the way, you can leave your shirt on, and put on this robe," she handed her a flimsy pink paper robe, "and put this over your lap," she motioned to another larger sheet of flimsy white paper. "The doctor will be with you shortly. She shut the door firmly behind her as she left.

"I will just wait outside," Harry said, leaving the same way the girl before him had. Ginny took in her surroundings as she slid her jeans and knickers down her hips while toeing off her shoes. The walls were the same light blue as the hallway. There was a machine which Ginny recognized as similar to the computer monitor in Hermione's office at their flat, along with a long board with the alphabet on it. Ginny was confused because the letters didn't seem to go in order.

There was a sink on the far end of the examination room, and similar posters on the walls as had been in the previous room. She perched herself on the end of the examination table, tugging the robe onto her shoulders and as much around her body as she could. She unfolded the other sheet and draped it over her lap.

"Gin?" Harry's voice came from the other side of the door. Ginny's heart swelled. He'd been so good to her. The best friend, ever. She knew she was right in trusting him with this.

"You can come in, Harry."

He walked in, closing the door behind him before shoving his hands in his pockets. He moved away from the door and stopped a few feet from her, rocking back onto his heels. "You're nervous." It wasn't a question. Her nerves were radiating off of her. She swore he could hear her heart beat echoing throughout the room. She nodded in agreement.

"Harry…" she didn't have time to finish, however, when there was a brief rap on the door and a second later an older man with a white lab coat on walked into the room.

"Hello, Ginerva. I'm Doctor Hotovy. How are we doing today?"

"As good as can be expected," Ginny muttered.

"All we are basically going to do is check out the fetus. You know, make sure it's in the right place, that you're not too far along…"

"The right place?" Harry asked, taking Ginny's hand in his.

"Oh, you know. Make sure it's in the right spot in the uterus. If we were to do the procedure and the embryo was actually in the fallopian tubes, which would be a Ectopic pregnancy, there would obviously be no change in condition. The embryo would keep growing and the fallopian tube would burst and you would bleed internally. Believe it or not, mistakes like that do happen." Ginny cringed.

"Well we wouldn't want that to happen." Good ole' Harry trying to make light of the situation. Ginny smiled appreciatively at him.

"Well, let's check you out, okay dear?" He pulled two long pieces of metal with what looked to be pieces of a shovel on the end of each. The prongs on the end of the original metal were just big enough to put her heels in.

He pulled out a device about ten inches long and covered it with, what looked to Harry like, a big condom. "Using lube for comfort. It may be a bit cold, but the gel is heated…" The lube made a 'squelch' sound with he squirted it from the tube. Harry let out a snort and the doctor glared disapprovingly at him. "Put your feet in the stirrups dear, and scoot down on the table…almost until your bottom falls off…right there, good." He had pulled on blue gloves and turned on the piece of machinery Ginny had mistaken for a computer. "I can turn this away from you so you don't have to look, or you can just look away…"

"I want to see," Ginny insisted.

"Ma'am, with all due respect…"

"She said she wanted to see," Harry bit out, his hand finding Ginny's again after she'd dropped it for leverage in scooting down the table. The two men held each others' gaze for a moment before the doctor nodded.

"Very well." He moved the monitor toward the pair and then lowered the speculum. "There will be some pressure," he mentioned.

Ginny grasped Harry's hand tightly for a moment. Then she turned to the screen. The picture on the screen was a fuzzy gray as the doctor moved the speculum around trying to find it's target. "Ah," he muttered and tapped a few of the out-of-order letters.

"Harry," Ginny muttered. Harry knelt down next to her until he was eye level with her. "It's…" she mumbled, her other hand motioning towards the screen. "It's moving…"

It was indeed moving. It fact, the picture would still for a few seconds, and then make a sudden jump. "That's not you, right?" Harry asked. The doctor shook his head, turning back to the screen. "Wow," breathed Harry.

He looked down to find Ginny staring at the monitor. Tears freely streamed down her cheeks. Her brown eyes were wide, wondrous. She let out a yelp when Dr. Hotovy moved the probe and pressed down on the right side of her body. "There's one ovary." He moved to the other side. He looked at the screen for a moment, before removing the probe with a loud _pop_.

"You are just over ten weeks, dear," he informed her, placing the speculum on the tray next to him and standing up, removing his blue gloves.

Ginny was staring blankly ahead of her, tears streaming down her face. She didn't even notice the doctor and Harry moving her back on the table, Harry helping her sit up, and the doctor refolding and putting away the stirrups. Ginny was still staring ahead blankly.

Dr. Hotovy suddenly took her face gently in his hands, forcing her chin upwards and her eyes to look him in the face. "It doesn't have to be like this. It's not too late. You don't have to go through with it." She weakly nodded, and he let go of her face. He told them they could head back into the lobby for the counseling session, or they were free to go if they so choose. Then he left the room closing the door quietly behind him.

Harry barely had time to catch her before Ginny fell off of the examination table. He caught her just in time and she collapsed against him, sobbing into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and rocked her silently. The pain in her sobs and her body radiated throughout the room and Harry felt a single tear slide down his own cheek. He stood there, rocking her, until her sobs quieted. The steady stream of tears finally stopped.

"Let's get you dress," he muttered. He helped her stand and then went over to the chair where she had placed her folded clothes. Normally holding a girl's knickers would've meant something different for Harry, but the situation was serious and so was he. He helped her pull the simple pink cotton up her legs and over the swell of her hips. Then he pulled the pink robe off of her and helped her step into her jeans and pull them up as well. She sat back onto the table and pulled her own trainers on over her feet. Then she slumped forwards and put her hands over her face.

Harry crossed to the sink and grabbed a few tissues before walking back to her and picking up her chin with one hand. He wiped a few stray tears with the tissue before following the path previous tears had taken, stopping at the collar of her shirt.

"Harry," her voice was quiet and she sounded like a scared little girl. His heart broke at the voice and he looked up at her. "Please…" she started, her eyes filling with tears once more. "Please take me home."


End file.
